TDU Chapter 262
Chapter 262 Song Seven
The thin man paused momentarily, seemingly pondering Qi Xia’s motives.
Qi Xia had been holding the two {Happiness} fans aloft for a while now, and his patience was beginning to wear thin. "What’s the matter? I’m offering you two fans in exchange for one and a half of yours, and you still need to think about it?"
The thin man was indeed troubled. After all, Qi Xia was offering two identical fans, which wouldn’t serve any purpose for his escape.
"Can—Can you change one of them?" The thin man pointed to the {Joy} fan on the ground, testing the waters. "How about one {Happiness} and one {Joy}?"
"No." Qi Xia answered without hesitation. "This is my business, and I set the terms. Take it or leave it."
"Ah?"
Qi Xia could tell that this man was extremely indecisive. To make him reach a decision, there could be no time left for contemplation.
"Not willing to trade, huh? Well, then," Qi Xia nodded, about to return the fans when the thin man suddenly grabbed his arm.
Having already crossed paths with Qi Xia, the thin man knew all too well that Qi Xia had a resolute nature. He had no choice but to act without delay.
"I'll trade... I'll trade..." With great hesitation, he pulled out the other fan from his pocket and, along with the broken one, handed them to Qi Xia.
Qi Xia didn’t hesitate and passed the two {Happiness} fans to him in return.
After receiving the fans, the thin man nodded in thanks and then turned to the crowd. "Is anyone willing to exchange a {Happiness} fan with me? Any emotion will do."
"Hey!" Qi Xia immediately called out, halting him.
"Huh?"
"Take your business elsewhere," Qi Xia gestured with a wave of his hand. "Don't do it around me."
"B—But, there are so many people here..."
Qi Xia nodded, then picked up the sharp knife from the ground. "Got it. I’ll send you on your way."
"Ah, no!" The thin man was immediately terrified. He knew that this man had the ability to communicate with the {umpire}, meaning he was no one to be trifled with. Without another word, he quickly turned and walked away.
Seeing him leave, Qi Xia exhaled in relief.
No one here would desire the {Happiness} he possessed, and in time, he would come to understand this issue.
With the crowd now silent, Qi Xia slipped the broken fan into his pocket, then picked up the other to examine.
The crowd gathered around, eagerly watching, but Qi Xia only opened the fan just slightly.
Before anyone could clearly see, he swiftly closed it again.
Was it {luck}? —No, it was a strategy.
Yet another {Sorrow}.
To the eyes of everyone around him, each fan was worth five {Dào}, but to Qi Xia, the value was far different.
The thin man’s broken fan was {Anger}, a suit currently in scarce circulation. And now, the second fan turned out to be {Sorrow}—he hadn’t even realized he was a hidden {rich individual}.
Having exchanged two {Happiness} fans for one {Sorrow} and one {Anger}—it could only be described as a windfall.
The man’s fans were exactly as Qi Xia had anticipated. The reason he had the audacity to come forward and propose the exchange was because he knew he was about to leave.
Therefore, the fan he still held could neither be {Happiness} nor {Joy}, for had it been either, he wouldn’t have been able to leave.
Since he had offered an {Anger} to trade, his second fan could only be {Sorrow}.
Qi Xia slipped the {Sorrow} into his pocket and placed the broken fan down on the ground.
Seeing Qi Xia display the broken fan, the crowd was filled with confusion.
"Young man, why did you put the broken fan down?" an older woman asked. "What did the intact fan have written on it? Show us."
"Yes, yes!" several others chimed in eagerly.
"Do I have any obligation to show you?" Qi Xia said coldly. "Right now, there are only these two. Whether you want them or not is up to you."
The crowd looked down, seeing one broken fan and one {Joy} fan, and they all hesitated.
Qi Xia, unfazed, pulled out a piece of chalk and wrote something on the ground.
"The torn fan costs two fans."
The moment they saw the line, the onlookers were convinced Qi Xia had gone crazy.
Who would swap two fans for one?
Wasn’t that just mimicking Terrestrial Goat's pricing—and his fans are actually in good shape.
As the crowd slowly began to disperse, Qi Xia took the opportunity to count the remaining people in the area.
Only twenty-two people remained. Unexpectedly, ten had managed to escape during the time he had been running his stall.
Qi Xia had helped a considerable number of them. Without his stall, these people would have likely had to wait at least another half hour to escape.
They had consumed five {Sorrow} fans, and now, there were at most fifteen remaining on the market.
During his time at the stall, Qi Xia had acquired two {Sorrow} fans, and as soon as those fans entered his possession, they would no longer circulate in the market. This meant that the market now held a maximum of thirteen.
Considering the earlier exchanges at his stall, it seemed that the number of {Sorrow} fans was likely far less than thirteen. Otherwise, someone would have already traded a {Sorrow} fan for another.
After all, for everyone, escaping was the best option right now.
Both Terrestrial Goat and Qi Xia required two fans to make an exchange, so continuing to wait was pointless.
But why hadn’t anyone escaped yet?
Where were they getting stuck?
Qi Xia remained completely calm, sitting quietly as he waited.
He watched as the remaining twenty people began to chat among themselves, but each attempt to form a group failed. Everyone seemed to sense that things were not going well.
At that moment, a man in a leather jacket walked up to Qi Xia. He glanced down at Qi Xia’s stall before asking, "Hey, buddy, what’s written on that broken fan of yours?"
Qi Xia carefully opened the broken fan, revealing an {Anger} that had been torn in half.
The leather-jacketed man raised an eyebrow and then lowered his voice, "Mind if I propose a deal?"
"Oh?" Qi Xia looked at him, "What kind of deal?"
"I'll trade you two fans, but after the game ends, you return five of the {Dào} to me."
Qi Xia stroked his chin thoughtfully. He felt this proposal wasn’t difficult to accept; it was, after all, a form of cooperation.
"Two questions," Qi Xia said. "First, since it’s two fans, why not trade with Terrestrial Goat?"
"Because he would never return the {Dào} to me," the leather-jacketed man replied. "Besides, I feel like you’ve played a few tricks in this game. Right now, you probably need fans more than {Dào}, so I thought I’d propose a deal."
Qi Xia nodded after hearing this, then asked, "Then how are you so sure that I’ll return the {Dào} to you once I’m out?"
"Because my name is Song Seven," the man said.
"Song Seven?" Qi Xia had never heard that name before. "So what if your name is Song Seven?"
"My name alone is enough to ensure a fair trade at {End Point}."
Qi Xia understood the dual meaning behind the words—both a subtle threat and a sense of justice.
The man's tone didn’t sound like he was lying; he was likely someone as well-known as Lin Qin, a prominent figure at {End Point}.
"Alright, Song Seven, I’ll agree," Qi Xia said. "If you're not lying, then this {Anger} fan is yours."
"You're straightforward," Song Seven nodded. He turned to reach for his fans but paused, then asked, "Is there any specific fan you’re looking for?"
"Of course," Qi Xia replied. "I want {Sorrow}."
